Running head: COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

SW 4020
December 5, 2014
Melissa L. Lafferty
em8149@wayne.edu

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Step One: Establish the What, Where, and Who
In August 2014, the City of Warren experienced a major flood crisis in which citizens are
still fixing their homes and repairing damages. Of the cities in Metropolitan Detroit, the City of
Warren overall seemed to have the most damage, and over 18,000 homes in Warren were
damaged due to the flood. The disaster amounted to about $1.2 billion in damage (Bartkowiak,
2014). The city was declared a disaster area, and in October 2014, residents could apply for
financial assistance and reimbursement through The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) (City of Warren, 2014).
The amount of damage was likely due to the citys storm drain system. This system is
old, and the city needs to update it in order to prevent future flooding. According to Amy
Mangus, leader of plan implementation at Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
(SEMCOG), most of the infrastructure is over 40-years-old and has not been fixed or repaired
since its development (Gautz, 2014). According to the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) (2014), the total reported need for water infrastructure in the United States in
2008 was $63.6 billion for combined sewer overflow control and $42.3 billion for storm water
management. This need will only increase as communities continue to develop and climate
patterns shift (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014).
Since the citys current storm drain system is old and needs to be updated, the community
needs to invent new approaches for handling inclement weather. The community should develop
a green infrastructure for preventing future flooding. The current infrastructure failed to prevent
flooding in August 2014, and many residents and businesses in Warren had multiple thousands of
dollars worth of damage to their property. According to the EPA (2014), a green infrastructure
uses natural hydrologic features to manage water and provide environmental and community
benefits. The City of Warren could use rain gardens, convert roofs of buildings to green roofs,

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

and redesign parking lots and other cemented structures so that water runs into the ground rather
than the storm drains. The community should redesign the water drainage system in a manner in
which water can be recycled in neighborhoods and businesses.
According to the EPA (2014), the traditional gray storm water infrastructure only serves
one purpose: to move urban storm water away from the built environment. Green
infrastructures, on the other hand, reduce and treat storm water at its source while delivering
many other environmental, social, and economic benefits. These benefits include improving
water quality, decreasing flooding, increases water supply, improve air quality, reduce energy
consumption, improve natural habitats and wildlife, reduce costs, and improve health in the
community (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014). Conventional storm water
infrastructures quickly drain storm water to rivers and streams, increasing peak flows and flood
risk. Green infrastructures will slow down and reduce the amount of storm water discharged,
therefore reducing the risk of flooding (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014).
Many cities across the U.S. have issues with flooding, and many of these cities have
developed creative methods for financing new infrastructure. In early 2014, the City of Oakland,
California created an Adopt a Drain program in which people can donate money and volunteer
their time to have storm drains cleared, repaired, or replaced (Saltmarsh, 2014). Either people
can donate money or actually volunteer to be responsible for making sure that the drains do not
become clogged with debris. Oakland organized this program through the Code for America
brigade, which is a network of people who work with government to solve local problems using
technology (Code for America, n.d.). This network has been successful in working with
communities all over the world and is currently working with the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan in
helping people identify healthy places to eat in the Ann Arbor area. The City of Warren should
work with Code for America brigade to try to develop solutions to the flooding problem.

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Green infrastructures are less costly to than traditional storm water management systems
(United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014). Green infrastructures require less land
grading, paving, and landscaping, as well as smaller or no piping and detention facilities. In
addition, the City of Warren can combine the current sewer systems with green systems, which
will save the city money as more of the traditional infrastructure becomes replaced with green
infrastructure. In addition, green infrastructures have been shown to increase property values,
which would be an incentive for developers as well as to the residents in Warren (United States
Environmental Protection Agency, 2014).
There is also a system in place that could be used by the City of Warren to help reduce
flooding in the community. The City of Warren is currently not allowed to connect to the
Oakland-Macomb county interceptor drainage district, which is a large sewer system that many
other cities in Macomb and Oakland counties use. The City of Warren is currently suing
Oakland County to force the county to allow Warren to be able to use the existing drainage
system that runs through Warren. The city is willing to pay into the system, but Oakland County
argues that Warren will not be allowed to connect into the system because the city did not pay for
the initial start up costs (Oakland County, 2013). Allowing Warren to connect into the existing
system would be beneficial to the community, as the infrastructure is already in place and would
cost the city very little to connect into the drainage district.
The problem needs to be addressed on both a county and citywide level. The flooding
affected all areas of the city, so the infrastructure replacement would need to begin in one area of
the city and then move from city block to block until the entire infrastructure is replaced. In
addition, Oakland and Macomb counties will need to be involved with solving this problem, as
Warren is one of the few cities not connected to the Oakland-Macomb county interceptor
drainage district.

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During the late 2000s, the economy took a negative turn in Warren. In 2012, the per
capita income for the city dropped to $20,314. 17.2% of the population and 13.8% of families
were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 26.2% were under the age
of 18 and 8.3% were aged 65 or older. The residents of Warren are less able to afford to pay
higher taxes as more residents have incomes below the poverty line than ever before (City of
Warren, 2014). In addition, multiple businesses closed, including manufacturing, retail, and
restaurants, due to the economic downturn. When the housing market struggled, the city was
negatively impacted, as property and housing values plummented and many people faced
foreclosures. Since less money is collected from property taxes of the city residents and
businesses, the City of Warren has been unable to repair and replace the storm drain systems or
invest in new infrastructure. Unless the community makes changes to the current system,
another flood crisis could certainly happen again.
The City of Warren showed resilience in the way that it has handled the disaster. During
the flood crisis, residents helped each other and brought others to safety. After the flood, the
citys mayor was able to convince Governor Synder to declare the City of Warren a disaster area
and make funds available to its residents. Warren Police and Firefighters worked all night and
used Warren Police and Fire Department vehicles as well as the citys Parks and Recreation
department buses to transport approximately 500 people who were stranded due to the flooding
to the Warren Community Center (Cook, Hotts, & Franz, 2014).
There are six public school districts, two private schools, one charter school, and two
colleges that are all a part of the community in Warren. Additionally, there are over 90 churches
throughout the city. There are multiple community and faith-based organizations located in
Warren as well, including Warren-Sterling Heights Elks Lodge, Warren-Centerline Prevention
Coalition, Macomb County Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Liberty Family Outreach, Hope

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Center in Macomb, Leaps and Bounds Family Service, Macomb County Warming Center,
Provident Corporation/Providence Ministries, the Salvation Army, the Warren Garden Club, and
the Warren Historical Commission (City of Warren, 2014). The city has four libraries, three
recreational facilities, and 25 city parks (City of Warren, 2014). Several large businesses are
involved and sponsor many activities and events in the City of Warren. General Motors,
Chrysler, TACOM Life Cycle Management, St. John Providence Health System, Macomb
Community College, Art Van, Andiamos, National Coney Island, and Big Boy routinely sponsor
city events such as health fairs, senior walks, and the annual Warren Birthday Bash (City of
Warren, 2014).
In response to the flooding that occurred in August 2014, the City of Warren set up a
fundraising campaign to raise money for senior and disabled Warren residents who were unable
to replace items such as water heaters, washers, dryers, and furnaces (Click on Detroit, 2014).
Renaissance Unity Church in Warren is also the FEMA Recovery Center and Small Business
Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Center for Macomb County. After the flood crisis,
Warren and other Macomb County residents could get questions answered about the FEMA loan
process and funds that were available to them for making repairs or replacing damaged property
(Franz, 2014).
General Motors, Macomb Community College, TACOM, and many other major city
businesses and churches had electrical issues and sustained costly damage to some of their
buildings as a result of the flood (Cook, Hotts, & Franz, 2014). As a result, many businesses and
organizations in Warren are supporting the development of a new infrastructure for storm drains.
Not everyone supports the development of new infrastructure, however, as it would likely
increase taxes to businesses and residents alike. With many businesses and residents still trying
to recover from economic hardship, the problem may not seem like a priority to the community.

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

Warrens mayor himself does not believe that the existing storm drains were the problem; he
believes that the damage was due to unbelievable heavy rain and the fact that Warrens drainage
system is not connected to the interceptor drain in Oakland and Macomb counties.
The City of Warren had filed a lawsuit in June 2013 against the Oakland-Macomb
interceptor drainage district because the district will not allow Warren to connect their storm
drains to theirs. Mayor Jim Fouts and Macomb Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco
believe that there would have been significantly less flooding in peoples basements if Warren
had been connected to the Oakland-Macomb interceptor drainage district (Gautz, 2014).
Therefore, with no additional funding and a mayor who does not intend on proposing ways to
design, build, and fund new infrastructure, the citys storm drain system may not be replaced
anytime soon.
Warren's violent crime rate significantly decreased in 2012, and compared to other cities
in the Metropolitan Detroit area, Warren still continues to have a low violent crime rate but high
property crime rate (Neighborhood Scout, 2014). The citys crime rate in 2012, however, was
still higher than the national average. In 2012, there were no murders in Warren, but prior, there
was an average of about 4.6 per year. Larceny-theft is the most predominant crime, comprising
of 61.2% of the citys crime rate. Violent crime significantly decreased in the city and was only
15.7% of the committed crimes, with aggravated assault making up 66.6% of these crimes.
There were 91 rapes in 2012, which is significantly higher than the U.S. average of 27 per year
(City-data.com, 2013). In June 2013, Warrens unemployment rate was 12.1%, which was
significantly higher than the state average of 9.7%. The number of thefts (especially larceny) is
likely related to the higher than average unemployment rate in the city. When people are not
working, they become desperate for money and turn to robbing and stealing from others.
Overall, Warrens high school graduation rate of 88.2% is higher than the State of
Michigan and U.S. average. Warrens high school graduation rate, however, varies drastically

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

based on the area of Warren. South Warrens graduation rate of 78% is significantly lower than
north Warrens rate of 92.1%; however, over twice as many students attend schools in north
Warren than in south Warren (City-data, n.d.). The high school dropout rates are highest in
southeast Warren at about 30%, which is also the area with the highest crime and poverty rates
(Neighborhood Scout, 2014). These risk factors all contribute to the citys problem of replacing
and repairing the infrastructure as (1) residents cannot afford to pay higher taxes in these areas,
(2) residents living in poverty may live in substandard housing, (3) these residents are more
likely to be unemployed, (4) these residents are feel more hopeless, and (5) these residents are
more likely to be involved with illegal activities and may sabotage the citys attempt to fix the
problem.
In 2012, 53,442 houses in Warren were occupied, and over 18,000 of them (or 33.7%)
were damaged by the flood. (City of Warren, 2014). In addition, there are 134,076 residents of
Warren. The average number of people in a household in Warren in 2012 was 2.49, and the
average family size was 3.11 people (City of Warren, 2014). 63.97% of the households in
Warren were families; 27.24% of these families had children under 18; and 8.00% of these
families were single mother households. 0.93% of the population was in group homes, with
0.70% being institutionalized. The median income for a household in 2012 was $41,006, and the
median income for a family was $55,574 (City of Warren, 2014). Males had a median income of
$46,021 versus $35,537 for females. The per capita income for the city dropped to $20,314.
17.2% of the population and 13.8% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total
people living in poverty, 26.2% were under the age of 18 and 8.3% were aged 65 or older.
About 76.34% of the population is white; 13.52% is black or African American; 4.63% is Asian;
2.60% are two or more races; 2.06% are Hispanic or Latino; 0.42% are Amercian Indian or
Alaskan Native; and 0.43% are some other race. In addition, there about 21,640 people aged 65

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

years old or older (City of Warren, 2014). According to Manta, there are over 14,100 companies
in the City of Warren, Michigan.
The flooding in August 2014 occurred all across Warren and did not discriminate which
homes were impacted. Seniors and people with low incomes were most negatively impacted as
they do not have the financial resources to repair any damage to their property. Senior citizens
and disabled residents whose basements flooded were at a particular disadvantage, as they were
unable to rescue much of their property that was stored in their basements. Many businesses
also sustained a large amount of damage, as they may have used basements as storage areas for
expensive equipment and inventory.
Developing a new infrastructure for managing excess water would help all residents and
businesses in the City of Warren. Additionally, implementation of the infrastructure would also
bring jobs into the city as the work is completed. New businesses may also be drawn into
Warren as future damage to businesses would be less likely due to the improvements. All groups
will benefit as a result of the changes made to the current storm drain system.
Step Two: Develop an Informed Consent Form
The following link is to the research survey tool and informed consent form:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1917003/City-of-Warren-Survey (See Appendix A for the
survey report)
Step Three: Learn More about the What, Where, and Who
I interviewed several members of the community and asked them questions about the
issue of flooding in the City of Warren. There were two males and one female. The first male,
Jonathan Lafferty, has lived in the City of Warren for thirty-seven years and was a county
commissioner for Macomb County. He believes that Warren needs to connect its existing sewer
system to the Oakland-Macomb county interceptor drain. Mr. Lafferty stated that there would
not have been as much water damage in August 2014 if the City of Warren had been connected to
the county interceptor drain. Additionally, he stated that many of the storm drains and sewer

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10

systems in Warren are very old and in need of repair or replacement, but there is not enough
money in the budget to do the repairs and replacements (J. Lafferty, personal communication,
December 2014).
The second person that I interviewed was Pam Iwankovich; she works for Warren
Consolidated Schools and has been a member of the Warren community for forty-seven years.
She believes that the damage from the flooding was due to the citys old infrastructure, as the
storm drains were not keeping up with the falling rain. Ms. Iwankovich stated that she never had
seen the roads or residential streets flood so rigorously in all of the years that she has lived in
Warren. She noted that she observed water coming out from under manhole covers. She feels
that the city needs to prioritize the repair and replacement of storm and sewer drains and develop
new and cost effective ways of doing so (P. Iwankovich, personal communication, December
2014).
The last individual that I interviewed was Scott Stanley; he is a City of Warren employee
and has been a resident of Warren for approximately forty-three years. He feels that the problem
did occur due to old and broken sewer and storm drains. Mr. Stanley feels that the engineering
division of the city needs to be proactive and redesign a drainage system that will be able to keep
up with rain, even when it is very heavy. He felt that engineers should be able to resolve this
problem for the city (S. Stanley, personal communication, December 2014).
Twenty-one residents of Warren responded to my survey tool, and they represented all
areas of Warren. 38.1% of respondents lived north of 11 Mile Road and west of Van Dyke,
23.8% lived north of 11 Mile Road and east of Van Dyke, 19.1% lived south of 11 Mile Road
and east of Van Dyke, and 19.1% lived south of 11 Mile Road and west of Van Dyke. About
62% of respondents had damage to their property in Warren as a result of the flooding in August

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11

2014. Of those residents who had damage, 92.3% had damage to their basement, 61.5% had
personal property damaged, and 15.4% had landscaping damaged, appliances damages, roof
damage, and vehicle damage because of the flooding. 84.6% of respondents identified storm
drains as the source of their flooding, although 38.5% blamed the ground from water saturation,
15.4% identified falling rain as cause the damage, and 7.7% identified septic tank issues as the
source of damage. Of the thirteen respondents who had property damage from the flooding, one
had over $10,000 damage, three had $5001-$10,000 worth of damage, five had $1001-$5000
worth of damage, one had $501-$1000 worth of damage, and three had $0-$500 worth of
damage to their property. When asked about what caused the problem to occur, 65% of the
respondents believed that the storm drain/sewer system in the city of Warren contributed to the
flooding. The other 35% of respondents stated that they did not know if the storm drain/sewer
system contributed to the problem. No respondents felt that the system did not contribute to the
problem. 57.1% of respondents feel that the City of Warren should replace its current storm
drainage/sewer system infrastructure, and 42.9% stated that they did not know if it should be
replaced. None of the respondents said that the infrastructure should not be replaced. When
residents of Warren were asked if a green infrastructure would work better to manage excess
water while being environmentally beneficial, 71.4% agreed, 14.3% disagreed, and 14.3% were
unsure. 52.4% of the respondents said that they would be willing to pay higher taxes in order to
subsidize funding for a green infrastructure in the city of Warren while 23.8% would not be and
23.8% were unsure.
The survey respondents represented an even cross section of ages (eight were aged 34
and under, and thirteen were 45 and older) and gender in the community (50% were male, 50%
were female, and one did not identify gender), but there was a disproportionate amount of whites

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12

that answered the survey (95.2% were white or Caucasian and 4.8% were black or African
American). Based on the interviews and surveys performed in the City of Warren, the residents
appear to agree that there is a problem with the storm drains/sewer infrastructure in the City of
Warren that the city needs to address.
Step Four: Identify Resources in the Community
The Map My Community website revealed several federally supported programs in the
City of Warren as listed in the table below:

Program Title

CFDA Department
Program
Number

Funding Agency

Trade Adjustment 17.282

Assistance
Community
College and Career
Training
(TAACCCT)
Grants

Recipient

Recipient Address

Macomb
14500 E. 12 Mile
Community College Road, Warren 480883896

Substance Abuse
and Mental Health
Services Projects
of Regional and
National
Significance

93.243

SAMHSA

Judiciary Courts of
the State of
Michigan

8300 Common Road,

WARREN 48093

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and

CENTER LINE
PUBLIC

26400 ARSENAL
ST, CENTER LINE

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Program Title

CFDA Department
Program
Number

13

Funding Agency

Recipient

Recipient Address

Nutrition Service

SCHOOLS

Michigan 480151600

Safe and DrugFree Schools and

Communities
National Programs

84.184

Office Of
Elementary And
Secondary
Education

FITZGERALD
PUBLIC
SCHOOLS

23200 RYAN RD,

WARREN Michigan
48091-4551

English Language
Acquisition Grants

84.365

Office Of English
Language
Acquisition

FITZGERALD
PUBLIC
SCHOOLS

23200 RYAN RD,

WARREN Michigan
48091-4551

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and
Nutrition Service

GREAT OAKS
ACADEMY

4257 BART AVE,

WARREN Michigan
48091-1977

Education
Research,
Development and
Dissemination

84.305

Office Of
Educational
Research And
Improvement

MACOMB
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE

14500 E 12 MILE
RD, WARREN
Michigan 480883870

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and
Nutrition Service

Southeast Michigan
Student Foundation

27300 DEQUINDRE
RD, Warren
Michigan 480922870

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and
Nutrition Service

Teddy Bear
Academy

28065 MOUND RD,

Warren Michigan
48092-2633

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and
Nutrition Service

VAN DYKE
PUBLIC
SCHOOLS

23500 MAC
ARTHUR BLVD,
WARREN Michigan
48089-1741

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Program Title

CFDA Department
Program
Number

14

Funding Agency

Recipient

Recipient Address

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and
Nutrition Service

WARREN
CONSOLIDATED
SCHOOLS

31300 ANITA DR,

WARREN Michigan
48093-1646

English Language
Acquisition Grants

84.365

Office Of English
Language
Acquisition

WARREN
CONSOLIDATED
SCHOOLS

31300 ANITA DR,

WARREN Michigan
48093-1646

National School
Lunch Program

10.555

Food and
Nutrition Service

WARREN WOODS 12900 FRAZHO RD

PUBLIC
RM 1, WARREN
SCHOOLS
Michigan 480891300

Most of the programs were National School Lunch Programs for children in public schools in the
City of Warren, but there were also English Language Acquisition Grants due to the large
number of Chaldean and Arabic populations in Warren; Trade Adjustment Assistance
Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) and Grants Education Research;
Development and Dissemination at Macomb Community College for educational and training
opportunities; Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs for drug use
and prevention in schools; and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Projects of
Regional and National Significance, which run through the court system in Warren to aid those
with substance abuse and mental health issues.
Adults lead the services and programs available through these organizations, but many of
the benefits are for and received by children (the school lunch program for example provides
nutritious meals to children in all public schools throughout the City of Warren). In addition,
many of the public schools have clubs and organizations that do charitable work around and

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15

outside of the community. Each school can be separately contacted regarding the resources that
they have in helping in the community.
Multiple companies have many resources that can be used to help the City of Warrens
community problems. For example, General Motors (GM) has employee resource groups that
work with the community to promote diversity (General Motors, 2014). This resource group
could be useful when looking to solve problems in the City of Warren using a diverse group of
people. General Motors Tech Center is the world headquarters of engineering and development
for GM, and, with over 19,000 employees, would be a huge resource for the City of Warren to
use. GM has a lot invested in the City of Warren and would greatly benefit from improvements
in the city. GM could also provide contacts for technological, equipment, and other resources,
which can be used when planning, designing, and implementing new infrastructure throughout
the city. GM has many training services and could collaborate with the City of Warren engineers
to redesign green infrastructure to be implemented throughout the City of Warren. GM in fact,
has a technical college where students could possibly be used to assist in the process of design
and planning with the City of Warren (Shepardson & Burden, 2014).
A number of services and programs are beneficial to the community including the
American Red Cross Blood Donation Center, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army,
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan.
Many thousands of volunteers work with these organizations and could donate time and money
to clearing existing storm and sewer drains as well as help finance new projects. The Warren
Garden Club is another resource that is specifically interested in the conservation of the
community environment and would be supportive of the initiative of incorporating a green
infrastructure into Warren. Additionally, the Warren Historical Commission is dedicated to

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16

making improvements to the City of Warren (City of Warren, 2014). Both of these could provide
human and financial resources in solving the problem and building a green infrastructure in
Warren. The City of Warren has a student advisory committee that can also be used as a resource
to help get students involved in solving problems for the city. They would be able to assemble
and organize student volunteers from all across the city (City of Warren, 2014).
Step Five: Analysis
The majority of the respondents agreed that the current storm drains and sewer
infrastructure led to the damage of property after the flooding that occurred on August 11, 2014.
They also felt that the City of Warren should repair or replace the storm drain and sewer
infrastructure to avoid flooding in the future. Almost 60% of the community respondents believe
that a green infrastructure would be a good solution to the problem, as it will prevent future
flooding while being environmentally friendly. The following steps are three possible actions
that can be taken to solve the problem:
1. The City of Warren will work toward repairing and replacing the infrastructure of the
storm drains and sewers with a green infrastructure while seeking to make improvements
to the system for maintaining storm drains.
The City of Warren would work toward replacing infrastructure that is outdated and only repair
infrastructure that is still useable. According to the EPA (2014), storm water management
systems that are based on green infrastructure cost less to put in and maintain. Volunteers could
maintain green infrastructure, as it primarily involves planting vegetation that does not require an
engineer to do. Volunteers can help keep these structures free from debris and maintain the
health of the plants. The city could develop an Adopt a Drain program in which money can be
donated and volunteers can assemble to keep drains free of litter and debris as well. Lastly, the

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17

city connect to the Oakland-Macomb county interceptor drainage district, which is a large sewer
system that many other cities in Macomb and Oakland counties use for draining excess water.
Allowing Warren to connect into the existing system would be beneficial to the community, as
the infrastructure is already in place and would cost the city very little. This approach would be
the most beneficial to the community and would help solve the problem long term. It would also
be the most cost-effective solution, although it would be an expensive solution short term.
2. The City of Warren will work toward repairing the existing infrastructure and clearing the
storm drains.
This option would be less expensive than the first approach, as volunteers could be trained to
clear storm drains and sewers so that they remain patent. The City of Warren would use funding
to make repairs to those drains that need to be updated. In addition, the city would connect to the
Oakland-Macomb county interceptor drainage district. This approach would likely be acceptable
to most if not all residents of Warren.
3. The City of Warren will not make any changes to its infrastructure and continue making
repairs only as needed to the current storm and sewer drains.
The City of Warren is currently taking this approach. Storm drains are not repaired or replaced
until they are already broken. This is the least expensive option and does not solve the problem,
as the flooding occurred with this approach already in place.
The majority of the survey respondents and interviewees believe that the problem could
be solved by repairing and replacing the infrastructure. They also believe that the system should
be replaced with green technology that would be environmentally friendly while being cost
effective and efficient. The biggest challenge to repairing and replacing the storm and sewer
drains is the magnitude and the price of the project. Warren is the third largest city in Michigan,

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18

and the project will require a tremendous amount of resources (both human and financial). The
number of roads and other structures that would have to be dug up would be very burdensome
and create heavy traffic. Planning would be extremely important in fixing this problem, and
community resources would be very important. This project should be approached in phases,
moving and working on different areas of the city at a time. Many of the businesses in the
community will have a vested interest in the success of this project, so the city planners should
use General Motors, Chrysler, TACOM, and other large companies to help promote and finance
this project. The City of Warren has volunteer organizations that could also be used to help
support the project and help with some of the manual labor. General Motors designs and
produces vehicles using green technology and other innovations, so GM engineers could be
useful to the City of Warren in designing new infrastructure needed to fix the problem. In 2013,
General Motors opened a $130 million data center in Warren that is used by employees to
brainstorm, communicate, and share new ideas (Rosenbush & Bennett, 2013). Warren could
collaborate with GM to help develop plans on the best approach for solving the flooding
problem, and they would likely be very receptive to it after having had $132 million in damage
due to the August flood (Gardner, 2014).
The City of Warrens engineering division is responsible for identifying, planning, and
implementing changes to the existing infrastructure of the storm and sewer drains throughout
Warren (City of Warren, 2014). In February 2012, the City of Warrens Facilities Engineer
published a report that contained detailed descriptions of how the current infrastructure functions
and what changes are recommended. There are specific recommendations and procedures made
in case the drains are not large enough to accommodate the flow. This report did identify that the
City of Warren Master Stormwater Plan was last updated in 1974, and since that time, no major

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drains have been constructed. The report concluded that: (1) the existing trunk storm sewers
serving the city have an average of 50% or less of the capacity needed for run-off from the 10year design frequency rain; (2) the deficiencies in capacities of existing systems cause flooding
of city streets, parking lots, and private properties; (3) the Red Run Drain, to which all city drains
are discharging, is undersized and needs improvement; (4) most of the drains located south of the
Red Run are deficient in capacities, and relief drains are needed citywide; and (5) the citys
drainage system is composed of a few areas with adequate capacity, at the and a majority of areas
with less than the desired runoff capacity (City of Warren, 2012, p. 21).
The engineering departments recommendations for changes to the infrastructure are
presented to Warrens City Council, who then vote to adopt the changes to the Stormwater
Ordinance. The City of Warren has a storm water coordinator who then proposes the revisions to
the Citys Planning Commission (City of Warren, 2012). The Planning Commission is
comprised of five city commissioners and five officers who discuss and plan budgets for
community development (City of Warren, 2014). Therefore, the city planners will need to
approve any changes to the infrastructure of the storm drains and sewers. The engineers
acknowledge the existing problem and have made recommendations since 2012 to make repairs
and replace infrastructure across the city.
One of the biggest challenges that Warren faces is the cost of a project this large. Warren
has still not fully recovered from the economic recession that closed many businesses in the city
as well as led to many foreclosures of residential homes. Residents in the City of Warren may
not be able to afford (or willing) to pay higher taxes that would probably be necessary to fund a
project this expensive. The survey revealed that the 52.4% of respondents would be willing to
pay additional monies to pay for the cost of repair or replacement of the infrastructure.

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The City of Warren will need to seek partnerships with local businesses that have a vested
interest in the success of solving this problem. As mentioned previously, General Motors may be
one company that would be able to collaborate with the city in order to help reduce the cost of
this project to taxpayers. The city will need to seek out many volunteer organizations and other
resources that may be able to help in keeping costs down. Since the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) declared Warren an official disaster area, perhaps there may be
some resources within FEMA that could be used to make much-needed repairs and replacements
to the infrastructure of storm and sewer drains in Warren. The city should contact the Code for
America brigade as well, as this organization may be able to organize the community and
uncover resources that the city can use to solve the problem.
According to the survey, all areas of the City of Warren were affected by the flooding in
August 2014. In addition, the people who are the most impoverished are unable to replace
damaged property, and disabled and senior citizens of Warren were unable to move property
from their basements in order to reduce the amount of overall property damage. Therefore, the
most vulnerable populations of people were most negatively impacted and will be the least likely
to replace their damaged property as a result.
The data that I collected and analyzed is comparable to what my initial
understanding of the issue was. I have learned a great deal more about the various resources that
are available potentially to help the city in solving this problem, but my basic understanding and
identification of the problem has not changed. Since I only had a total of 24 people who were
discussing the problem, I would suggest that a larger survey be conducted to collect more data.
It could also ask for volunteers and suggestions for help. This could be easily conducted by an
internet survey on the City of Warrens website. The City of Warren also owns a cable television

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

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station called TV Warren that could advertise for residents to complete the survey as well (City
of Warren, 2014)
Step Six: Develop an Action Plan for Evaluating the Change Effort
The City of Warren is a mechanistic community as it operates as a large bureaucracy
where there are many layers of hierarchy. This will make this action plan more challenging to
accomplish, as the structure of the community tends to be very rigid, and information and
problem solving typically goes from the top down (Netting et al., 2012). The solution to this
problem needs to be addressed from the bottom up, or in other words, from residents and
volunteers in the community to the city hall of Warren. Residents of Warren will need to realize
that they do have power to change events in the city, but this change will take effort, as the
mechanistic City of Warren usually has decision makers in the hierarchy that give instructions
instead of listening and receiving advice from the community (Netting et al., 2012, p. 232). The
culture or political climate of the city will not change quickly, so the community should try to
solve the problem in stages.
The community should collaborate with local businesses and Code for America brigade
to start an Adopt a Drain program in which money can be donated and volunteers can
assemble to keep drains free of litter and debris. Businesses that participate could also commit to
having a green roof, and the volunteers can help the business plant some of the trees and other
vegetation. This action plan would be a first step in getting businesses and the community to
work together to tackle the larger problem of changing the infrastructure of the storm drain and
sewer systems.
Since most of the participants in the survey believed that the city should replace
the existing infrastructure, this action plan would likely have support throughout the community.

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

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There are numerous volunteer organizations that would support this action, and most (if not all)
members in the community would be very supportive in finding a solution to a large problem
that will not raise taxes. Members of the community who are concerned about being green will
find this plan environmentally friendly.
Every community has political factors that influence decisions made by the city.
The City of Warren is no exception. This action plan must be seen as non-partisan, which could
be difficult if politicians want to become involved. The plan will need to be presented by
community members to the city council and not presented to the mayors office first. The city
council and mayors office do not always agree on projects. The plan also needs to be supported
by a diverse group of residents of Warren, including people from all areas of the city as well as
by people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The City of Warren has an engineering division that works on infrastructure issues
directly, but the department currently does not have any plans that involve green technology, as
all of their solutions involve the traditional gray technology (City of Warren, 2012). The City of
Warren is also suing Oakland County so that they will be allowed to connect to the OaklandMacomb Interceptor Drainage District. This would take some of the strain off Warrens storm
and sewer drains that need to be repaired or replaced (Oakland County, 2013). Some businesses
in Warren work with other companies to find green solutions to organizational problems. Sierra
Technical Services, for example, is a company in Warren that specializes in Environmental &
Ecological Conservation that could be used to develop the green solutions in Warren (USA
Yellowpages, 2014). General Motors employs environmental engineers that work on developing
green technology, but they are not working with the city on this particular issue. The Warren
Garden Club and Warren Historical Commission are volunteer organizations that are involved in

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

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the beatification of the city as well as protecting the environment (City of Warren, 2014). All of
these groups are working on parts of the solution, but they will need to come together with their
expertise and work together in order to implement the strategies of the action plan.
The Adopt a Drain program should be the first phase of a larger plan to solve
the communitys problems with storm and sewer drains. At first no money would be needed,
only volunteers to organize a strategy to tackle the issue. Organized volunteers can contact the
Code for America brigade and use their contacts and experience to further connect with the city
resources such as the engineering division as well as local businesses such as General Motors,
TACOM, and environmental service companies. During the implementation of the adopt a
drain program, members of a city task force working with the volunteers can brainstorm ways
to fund more phases of the project. If this large problem is addressed in smaller phases, it will
not seem so impossible to complete.
There are eight specific outcomes intended to be achieved by the action plan: (1) organize
volunteers from the community to discuss the issue; (2) receive representation from multiple
races and ethnicities as well as different areas of the city; (3) develop and perform a survey to
measure opinion about the problem; (4) ask for volunteers around the community to become
involved in the project; (5) work with the Code for America brigade and develop partnerships
with local businesses, the Warren Garden Club, and the Warren Historical Commission; (6)
approach the city council to work with the engineering division of the city on the project; (7)
have volunteers develop a plan to do an Adopt a Drain program as well as plan some green
roofs for the companies that are involved with the project; and (8) develop a strategy to market
the program to the community.

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The following measures will determine the success of action plan: (1) the number of
incidents of flooding or other storm or sewer drain problems before and after the action plan was
implemented; (2) the amount of money spent on drain repairs and replacement before and after
the action plan was implemented; and (3) the analysis of air quality around businesses with green
roofs before and after the action plan was implemented.

References
Bartkowiak, D. (2014, August 14). Warren mayor: $1.2 billion in flood damage. Click on
Detroit. Retrieved from http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/warren-mayor-12-billion
-in-flood-damage/27476872
City of Warren. (2012, February). Storm water management plan. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofwarren.org/images/stories/engineering/SWMP%202011%20final
%20draft.pdf
City of Warren. (2014). About parks and rec. Retrieved from http://www.cityofwarren.org
/index.php/about-parks-and-rec
City of Warren. (2014). Communications department. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/departments/communications-department
City of Warren. (2014). Engineering division. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/departments/engineering-division
City of Warren. (2014). FEMA flooding assistance. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/105-general/542-fema-flooding-assistance
City of Warren. (2014). Historic commission. Retrieved from http://www.cityofwarren.org
/index.php/historic-commission
City of Warren. (2014). Planning department. Retrieved from http://www.cityofwarren.org
/index.php/departments/planning-department
City of Warren. (2014). Student Advisory Committee. Retrieved from
http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/student-advisory-committee
City of Warren. (2014). Warren census. Retrieved from http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php
/warren-census-2
City of Warren. (2014). We care volunteering. Retrieved from http://www.cityofwarren.org
/index.php/we-care-volunteering

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PLAN

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City-data.com. (n.d.). Schools in Warren, Michigan. Retrieved from http://www.citydata.com/school/Warren-Michigan.html

City-data.com. (2013, September 30). Crime rate in Warren, Michigan (MI): Murders, rapes,
robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees,
police officers, crime map. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime
-Warren-Michigan.html
Click on Detroit. (2014, September 18). City of Warren sets up fundraising campaign for flood
victims. Retrieved from http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/city-of-warren-sets-upfundraising-campaign-for-flood-victims/28118542
Code for America. (n.d.). Brigade overview. Retrieved from http://www.codeforamerica.org
/brigade/about
Cook, J., Hotts, M., & Franz N. (2014, August 13). Warren declares flooding state of
emergency; 2 deaths blamed on storm. Macomb Daily. Retrieved from
http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20140812/warren-declares-flooding-stateof-emergency-2-deaths-blamed-on-storm
Franz, N. (2014, November 11). Flooding disaster centers transition to loan centers. Retrieved
from http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20141111/flooding-disaster-centerstransition-to-loan-centers
Gardner, G. (2014, October 23). GM Tech Center flood damage cost $132 million. Detroit
Free Press. Retrieved from http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/generalmotors/2014/10/23/gm-tech-center-flood-damage/17780337/
Gautz, C. (2014, August 17). Storm drain system Metro Detroit Michigan. Retrieved from
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20140817/NEWS/308179982/officials-study-waysto-lessen-burden-on-storm-systems
General Motors. (2014). Diversity at GM: Employee resource groups. Retrieved from
http://www.gm.com/company/aboutGM/diversity/employee_resource_groups.html
Neighborhood Scout. (2014). Crime rates for Warren, MI. Retrieved from
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/warren/crime/
Netting, F. E., Kettner, P. M., McMurtry, S. L., & Thomas, M. L. (2012). Social work macro
practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Oakland County. (2013, March 19). A resolution agreeing in principle the City of Warren wet
weather connection to the OMID system. Retrieved from http://www.oakgov.com

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/water/Documents/omi_final/Legal/OMI%20Warren%20Connection%20Resolution%20%20Signed.pdf
Rosenbush, S., & Bennett, J. (2013, May 13). GM opens new data center modeled on Google,
Facebook. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2013/05/13/gmopens-new-data-center-modeled-on-google-facebook/
Saltmarsh, E. (2014, November 19). Oaklands Adopt-A-Drain program. Retrieved from
http://keepoaklandbeautiful.org/oaklands-adopt-a-drain-program/
Shepardson, D., & Burden, M. (2014, September 30). GM Tech Center named national
Landmark. Detroit News. Retrieved from http://www.detroitnews.com
/story/business/autos/generalmotors/2014/09/30/gm-tech-center-warren-named-national-historic-landmark/16477203/
USA Yellowpages. (2014). Sierra Technical Services. Retrieved from
http://www.usaypage.com/environmental-ecological-conservation-category/michiganwarren/sierra-technical-services-p12266.html
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2014, October 27). Water: Green
infrastructure. Retrieved from http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure
/index.cfm#tabs-2

Appendix A
Survey Report

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New Summary Report - 05 December 2014

Survey: City of Warren Survey

Do you agree to participate in this survey and have your information

shared for research purposes?

Value

Coun Percent

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t

I agree to participate in the survey and have my information used for research purposes.

21

1. How old are you?

Value

Count

Percent

Under 18

4.8%

18-24

28.6%

25-34

4.8%

35-44

0.0%

45-54

33.3%

55 or older

28.6%

100.0%

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Statistics
Sum

778.0

Average

38.9

StdDev

15.2

Max

55.0

2. What is your gender?

Value

Count

Percent

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Male

10

50.0%

Female

10

50.0%

3. Which racial or ethnic group(s) do you identify with?

Value

Count

Percent

White or Caucasian

20

95.2%

Black or African American

4.8%

Hispanic or Latino

0.0%

Asian or Pacific Islander

0.0%

Native American or American Indian

0.0%

Other

0.0%

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4. What area of Warren do you live in?

Value

Count

Percent

North of 11 Mile Road, East of Van Dyke Road

23.8%

North of 11 Mile Road, West of Van Dyke Road

38.1%

South of 11 Mile Road, East of Van Dyke Road

19.1%

South of 11 Mile Road, West of Van Dyke Road

19.1%

5. During the severe rainstorms that caused flooding throughout Southeast

Michigan in August 2014, did your property sustain damage?

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Value

Count

Percent

Yes

13

61.9%

No (skip to question 9)

38.1%

6. Which parts/types of your property sustained damage from the flood?

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Value

Count

Percent

Landscaping (grass, trees, bushes, etc.)

15.4%

Basement

12

92.3%

Appliances (heater, furnace, etc.)

15.4%

Personal property

61.5%

Roof

15.4%

Windows or walls (above basement level)

0.0%

Vehicle

15.4%

Other (please specify)

0.0%

Open-Text Response Breakdown for "Other (please specify)"

Count

Left Blank

21

Left Blank

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7. What was the source of the water that damaged your property?

Value

Count

Percent

Ground water from saturation

38.5%

Falling rain (roof leaks, plugged rain gutters etc.)

15.4%

Flooding from storm drains (road/street flooding)

11

84.6%

Failed sub pump

0.0%

Septic tanks/raw sewage

7.7%

Other (please specify)

0.0%

Open-Text Response Breakdown for "Other (please specify)"

Count

Left Blank

21

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Open-Text Response Breakdown for "Other (please specify)"

Count

Left Blank

8. Approximately how much money in property damage did you have due to
the flooding in August 2014?

Value

Count

Percent

$0-$500

23.1%

$501-$1000

7.7%

$1001-$5000

38.5%

$5001-$10,000

23.1%

Over $10,000

7.7%

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9. Do you believe that the City of Warrens storm drain/sewer system

contributed to flooding in August 2014?

Value

Count

Percent

Yes

13

65.0%

No

0.0%

I don't know

35.0%

10. Do you feel that the City of Warren should replace its current storm
drainage/sewer system infrastructure?

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Value

Count

Percent

Yes

12

57.1%

No

0.0%

I don't know

42.9%

11. Do you think that a green infrastructure would be useful for managing
excess water while being environmentally beneficial?

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Value

Count

Percent

Yes

15

71.4%

No

14.3%

I don't know

14.3%

12. Would you be willing to pay a small storm rebuild tax to fund
development of a new green infrastructure in the City of Warren?

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Value

Count

Percent

Yes

11

52.4%

No

23.8%

I don't know

23.8%